Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: Indeed, I, Lin Qingxue, Can Foresee the Future!

Xiao Ran, Li Xuan, and the others shouted, watching the bridge collapse, witnessing the bodies of Gu Xinian and the elite monster fall. They wanted to do something, anything, but were powerless.

At this stage, none of the professionals possessed the ability to levitate or to make others levitate.

Most importantly, though the elite monster was dead, the monsters of the Guard Corps still remained, and they had to deal with them.

Because of Gu Xinian.

Their minds were distracted.

As a result, the warriors at the front lines were injured.

This was still thanks to the continuous enhancements and amplifications from many singers; otherwise, their lives might have been in grave danger.

Fortunately, the moment they were wounded, their comrades snapped back to reality. The priests resumed healing, and the others steadfastly held their positions, continuing the fight.

Yet, none of them glanced at the notification window.

Even though it displayed content that could rightfully be called astonishing.

Their hearts were still fixated on what had happened to Gu Xinian.

Logically, they had only just come into contact with Gu Xinian, fought alongside him briefly, and hardly knew him well enough to have such a profound reaction.

But in this initial collaboration, they had been deeply captivated by Gu Xinian’s strength and charisma.

Not everyone had a heart drawn to darkness, forsaking all that is beautiful.

Their willingness to stand with Xiao Ran and Li Xuan as comrades indicated that they harbored positive energy.

Therefore, after the world’s upheaval and enduring harsh realities, what they yearned for most was not, like many others, to seize the opportunities of the new era, to ride the winds and waves, to become the storm that would open a new chapter of the world and take the throne.

They longed instead for a hero who could save the age, save them.

Although they knew Gu Xinian’s personality might not make him such a savior.

What mattered most was Gu Xinian’s power.

Without Gu Xinian, who would have dreamed of choosing the hellish difficulty for this absurd and cruel trial from the very start?

And even more so for the second trial.

Without Gu Xinian, who could imagine that someone could mow down those despair-inducing monsters as if cutting grass?

Without Gu Xinian, who could fathom a single person killing such powerful elite monsters on their own?

Gu Xinian’s formidable power gave them hope, even if that hope was merely the chance to cling to a strong back, a hope that they might survive.

Li Xuan, born into the military, understood Gu Xinian’s value even more clearly.

If Gu Xinian lived, as long as he didn’t become an extreme antisocial lunatic, he would be of immense value to the entire human world in times like these.

But now, such a powerhouse who could influence the lives of many had been treacherously killed by selfish individuals for their own gain.

The thought that without Gu Xinian, many might perish, all because of those despicable, vile selfish people, made Li Xuan’s anger almost overflow from his chest.

Xiao Ran was even sharper and more far-sighted than Li Xuan.

If Gu Xinian hadn’t been there in the first trial, how many would have died?

If he wasn’t here in this trial, how many more would perish?

Yet these fools had treacherously taken Gu Xinian down!

She could hardly imagine what would happen next.

For a moment, she, Li Xuan, and the large force fought with all their might against the Guard Corps’ monsters, while also looking toward the direction from which the talent skills had just flown.

They saw a group of people jubilantly cheering at the mouth of an alley not far from the exit of the Shannan River Crossing Bridge.

Clearly, this group had been hiding in the alley, like hunters waiting for prey.

Li Xuan and Xiao Ran were no strangers to these people.

They were the Destiny Trial Group that had previously schemed against Li Xuan and Xiao Ran.

As Gu Xinian had predicted, this time the Destiny Trial Group’s founders were still Han Tong, Lin Qingxue, and a few others.

Lin Qingxue, Han Tong, a broad-nosed, well-dressed man, and a fiery red-haired youth stood with arms crossed, looking down arrogantly at Li Xuan, Xiao Ran, and the others.

Filled with rage, Li Xuan and Xiao Ran stared at them and demanded,

“Do you know what you’ve done?”

“What will happen to the trials without Gu Xinian?”

Lin Qingxue laughed loudly.

“Do you think we all have to rely on Gu Xinian for the upcoming trials?”

“That’s the weak-minded way to think. We admit that in the novice trials, Gu Xinian was better than all of us, but after the class change, his talent skills were so underwhelming.”

“But we’re different. The talent skills we drew are probably the strongest among everyone in the Qinghe campus area. The future belongs to us.”

She was smug, full of pride.

At that moment, Han Tong spoke.

“Qingxue, why waste time talking to them?”

“Only fools like them think that guy named Gu is so great.”

“If he was really that impressive, why did he fall into our trap just now?”

“Li Xuan, Xiao Ran, you’re both capable people. Now we’re giving you a chance: submit to us, and we’ll build a bridge to get you across.”

Li Xuan and the others’ faces darkened. Had they known there were such scoundrels in their ranks, they would have dealt with them harshly during the novice trials.

Xiao Ran fixed Lin Qingxue and the others with a piercing gaze, as if trying to see through them.

“From the moment you maliciously sought to cooperate with us, plotting against Gu Xinian, it was as if you could foresee exactly when Gu Xinian would arrive at the Shannan River Crossing Bridge.”

“So you must have planted spies close to Gu Xinian.”

Then her gaze shifted to Pang Haoyu.

At this moment, Pang Haoyu was kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly at the broken part of the Shannan River Crossing Bridge, utterly devastated.

After everything that had happened, Gu Xinian was the most important person in his life aside from his parents.

Now that something had happened to Gu Xinian, the depth of his grief and despair were unimaginable.

If possible, he would rather it had been himself in trouble.

“But Gu Xinian only had this young boy beside him. He looks genuinely heartbroken, not acting; he’s probably not a spy.”

“More importantly, even if he were a spy, he couldn’t have precisely predicted when Gu Xinian would kill the elite monster during the fight.”

“But you accurately foresaw this outcome, and while trying to snatch the elite monster’s kill, you also planned another move—to blow up the Shannan River Bridge beneath Gu Xinian.”

“You only wanted Gu Xinian to fall into the river, not kill him. You even anticipated the appearance of the hidden boss in the Shannan River, so someone among you can foresee the future.”

Xiao Ran analyzed with clarity, her eyes gleaming with intelligence.

It was this exceptional wisdom that made her even more beautiful and captivating, almost like a queen of the realm.

At that moment, whether it was her, Li Xuan’s large force, or the Destiny Trial Group, they were all drawn in by her presence.

Countless men present couldn’t help but entertain a thought:

If they could have such a woman, it would be luckier than marrying a superstar!

Even the red-haired youth and the broad-nosed man could not hide the deep desire glimmering in their eyes when looking at Xiao Ran.

As for Han Tong, he was already imagining Lin Qingxue and Xiao Ran vying for his affection, nearly twisting his mouth into a grin.

After careful observation, he realized Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxue were similar professionals with special and strong abilities but currently lacking in combat power.

Thus, Lin Qingxue needed Xiao Ran while Xiao Ran relied on Li Xuan’s protection.

As for Li Xuan, Han Tong no longer even regarded Gu Xinian highly; what was he compared to them?

Military background or not, this was no longer the old world.

Lin Qingxue was unaware of the men’s thoughts around her, and even if she knew, she wouldn’t care.

Because now she held herself above all.

She looked down on Xiao Ran condescendingly.

“That’s right, I’m a fate-believing class-changer. My talent skill lets me foresee the future!”

“So, Xiao Ran, will you submit to me?”

When she said this, she carried herself like a queen on high.

Before the world’s upheaval, Xiao Ran had been far more famous.

She was merely the campus beauty of Qinghe University, while Xiao Ran was a nationally renowned internet celebrity teacher.

If such a beautiful and intelligent online goddess could submit to her, that feeling would be wonderful, thrilling.

Since gaining the power to foresee the future, she had grown wildly arrogant, feeling as if the world revolved around her.

Yet the next moment, something unexpected happened.

Xiao Ran met her gaze, her eyes burning with fire, and resolutely said,

“I refuse!”

Lin Qingxue was stunned, doubting her ears.

She didn’t understand why Xiao Ran would reject her.

Didn’t Xiao Ran know how powerful she would become with the ability to foresee the future?

How far she would rise?

At this moment, Li Xuan stepped forward.

He came beside Xiao Ran, patted her shoulder, and then looked firmly at Lin Qingxue and the others.

“We will never submit to people like you.”

The others in the large force stood as well, echoing in unison:

“Right, we would rather die than submit to someone like you.”

One must have backbone.

And the large force certainly had backbone.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Lin Qingxue found it somewhat amusing.

So what if they were like that?

The world had changed.

She could foresee that the future world would be one where the strong ruled and the weak were prey.

No justice, no order, no morality or law would exist.

So, becoming stronger by any means necessary was all that mattered.

Besides, was Gu Xinian so virtuous?

She only harmed Gu Xinian, but after the world’s upheaval, Gu Xinian’s hands were already stained with blood.

Still, she didn’t care about Li Xuan and Xiao Ran’s refusal.

This world was not lacking in talent.

If Li Xuan and Xiao Ran were unwilling to submit, plenty others would.

“Then so be it. You’ll stay here forever.”

Lin Qingxue said coldly, then, with Han Tong, the broad-nosed man, the red-haired youth, and the rest of the Destiny Trial Group, they started heading toward the Shannan River’s edge.

Clearly, they intended to hunt the hidden boss, Nanjiang Xian.

Seeing their backs, the large force ground their teeth in fury.

At this moment, Nangong Yun stepped forward.

“Brother Xuan, Sister Ran, if we die here, we won’t accept it.”

Others echoed in agreement.

“Yes, we must make those bastards pay.”

Li Xuan said,

“Let’s deal with the Guard Corps’ monsters first.”

Indeed, they were still fighting the Guard Corps’ monsters.

If not for those monsters holding them back, many would have already wanted to fight desperately against the Destiny Trial Group.

Everyone heard Li Xuan’s words and immediately focused on defeating the elite monsters.

Indeed, no matter how much they wanted to confront the Destiny Trial Group, they had to first deal with the elite monsters before them.

At this time, Li Xuan approached Xiao Ran and quietly asked,

“Have you decided what to do next? Although I don’t like fighting…”

“But if those scoundrels kill the hidden boss, I will never accept it!”

Xiao Ran looked at Li Xuan and whispered,

“At the moment the Shannan River Crossing Bridge collapsed, I saw Gu Xinian not showing panic or despair, but rather a slight smile on his lips.”

“I suspect all this was under his control, and he is not dead.”

Li Xuan was stunned, waves of shock surging in his heart.

“How could that be?”

“Lin Qingxue just admitted she can foresee the future. How could this still be under Gu Xinian’s control?”

Xiao Ran’s eyes shone brightly.

“What if Gu Xinian can also foresee the future, and his ability is even stronger than Lin Qingxue’s?”

Li Xuan was speechless.

He pondered many details.

If Gu Xinian could foresee the future, it explained why he dared to choose hellish difficulty in the novice trial when everyone else was clueless.

No wonder after class changing, everyone immersed themselves in studying their professions and talent skills, but Gu Xinian remained indifferent.

No wonder in this trial, he still chose hellish difficulty.

No wonder no matter what happened, how shocking it was, Gu Xinian always remained calm and composed.

Even so, he was still not certain Gu Xinian was alive.

He only hoped Xiao Ran’s judgment was right.

At that moment, Xiao Ran’s slightly serious voice rang out.

“Protect that boy.”

Li Xuan looked toward her voice, knowing she meant Pang Haoyu.

…

As Xiao Ran had guessed,

Gu Xinian was not dead.

At this moment, he was inside Nanjiang Xian’s belly.

Though the Destiny Trial Group’s recent methods were unavoidable, he had no reason to evade them.

Because, as Xiao Ran suspected, all of this was part of his calculation.

As a reborn man, how could he not know that Lin Qingxue possessed the ability to foresee the future?

Just like in his previous life.

In this life, Lin Qingxue remained a mage who believed in fate.

Her B-grade talent skill was Astrology.

Once activated, it allowed her to foresee the destiny of a target for twenty minutes and could only be used three times per day.

A very powerful fate-based skill!

Having known and loved this woman for many years, he understood her deeply.

Moreover, with his profound understanding of human nature and memories from his past life, he knew that when Lin Qingxue sought revenge, she would use Astrology on him.

After she used Astrology on him, she would make Han Tong and the others in the Destiny Trial Group strike him at the critical moment.

That critical moment was when he fought the elite monster.

When he killed the elite monster, the powerful Destiny Trial Group members, empowered by countless singers, not only had the ability to snatch his kill but also detonated the part of the Shannan River Crossing Bridge beneath his feet.

This forced him, lacking any means of flight, to fall into the river.

Lin Qingxue predicted Gu Xinian’s fate and knew he would kill the elite monster, naturally foreseeing the trial’s hidden mechanism:

When the elite monster dies, the hidden boss Nanjiang Xian at the Nanshan Mist Metro Station would appear.

To be honest, although Lin Qingxue was arrogant, she still feared Gu Xinian’s power.

She even thought that no matter how powerful the Destiny Trial Group was, confronting Gu Xinian directly might not even kill him, hence the elaborate trap.

No matter how strong Gu Xinian was, once he fell into the Shannan River, he would become Nanjiang Xian’s prey inside its belly, an inevitable death.

But she didn’t know that Gu Xinian was a reborn man who not only understood the elite monster but knew this trial’s every detail better than anyone.

He not only knew the hidden boss Nanjiang Xian would appear after killing the elite monster, he also knew Nanjiang Xian well.

In truth, the elite monster was not a river immortal; Nanjiang Xian was.

He called the elite monster a river immortal just to deceive others.

Indeed, the reason he could kill the elite monster with a single shot was not because of superior combat skill, striking the same spot every time to break its defense.

It was because he deceived everyone.

His talent skill, Mysterious Mask, had this effect:

—Your lies become easier to believe. The more people believe your lies, the more your lies become reality. Duration: 1 hour.

More precisely, the elite monster should be called the river general, and the Guard Corps monsters were river soldiers.

The river general was the emissary and avatar of the river immortal, acting on its behalf.

When the elite monster shouted “Protect my immortal might,” it was invoking the immortal might of the river immortal behind it—not its own.

But Li Xuan, Xiao Ran, and the others did not know this.

So Gu Xinian played along, pretending he had a shot that could slay an immortal.

With the Mysterious Mask skill’s support, his deliberate showmanship, and the terrifying background of his strength, everyone began to believe that his shot truly could slay an immortal.

Thus, his lie became fact, and with the immortal-slaying shot, he instantly killed the river general.

Then Nanjiang Xian appeared!

Though he hadn’t fought Nanjiang Xian in his past life, he knew clearly that even the top world-class experts from before, like Feng Zijian, could only attack Nanjiang Xian by entering its belly.

Because Nanjiang Xian had only one weak point: its viscera.

At this stage, even an S-grade weapon like the Corrupted Lance could not pierce its external defenses.

Without entering Nanjiang Xian’s belly, how could one attack its viscera?

So, after accurately anticipating Lin Qingxue and the Destiny Trial Group’s motivations, Gu Xinian chose to turn the tables.

Thus, what happened next unfolded.

The Destiny Trial Group had planned to kill him but unexpectedly ended up aiding him.

Hmph, Destiny Trial Group?

Lin Qingxue, do you really think that possessing the ability to foresee the future makes you destiny itself?

Let me show you who destiny truly is!

A sharp gleam flashed in Gu Xinian’s eyes as he stood and began to survey his surroundings.

The Corrupted Swamp still existed but had shrunk to a tiny area.

Inside Nanjiang Xian’s belly lay abundant polluted energy; the Corrupted Swamp could counterbalance and protect Gu Xinian.

Without the Corrupted Swamp, even as a reborn man, once contaminated, Gu Xinian would likely perish.

Just then, behind him, a voice sounded like a demon gnawing on bones.

“You seem to know a lot about many things in this trial!”